The Fraternity's Name Change MALIK SHABAZZ
On April 22nd 1964, a bold and progressive change occurred: "Malcolm X" changed his name to "MALIK SHABAZZ".
MALIK Fraternity
On May 18th 2002, a bold and progressive change occurred: "Malik Sigma Psi Fraternity" changed its name to "MALIK Fraternity".
Official Fraternity Name Change Press Release (2002):
Malcolm Speaks On The Name Change:
"When I'm traveling around the country, I use my real name, Malik Shabazz. I make my hotel reservations under that name, and I always see the same thing I've just been telling you. I come to the reservation desk and always see that 'here-comes-a-Negro' look. It's kind of a reserved, coldly tolerant cordiality. But when I say 'Malik Shabazz,' their whole attitude changes: they snap to respect. They think I'm an African. People say what's in a name? There's a whole lot in a name. The American black man is seeing the African respected as a human being. The African gets respect because he has an identity and cultural roots. For these reasons he has his human rights recognized, and that makes his civil rights automatic." - Malik Shabazz
History & Cultural Significance of the Fraternity's Name Change:
The Fraternity of today is not the same Fraternity of 1977. The fraternity went through a gradual evolution of consciousness and self-reflection. During it's founding it was a para-Greek Fraternity. Like many of its counterparts, it was (and still is) standard to have 3 greek letters. The Founders did not set out to found some ideological entity. They were a group of brothers that had a strong bond that wanted to form a fraternity on their college campus. The choices at that time were not appealing to them, so they decided to form their own. However, instead of choosing the common 3-Greek letter route they decided to have the "M" represent "MALIK". Thus Malik Sigma Psi was born. Malik means King, Sigma means Movement/Progress, and Psi means Man. When read from right to left, "man progressing to be king".
As the fraternity grew, so did its members' consciousness. Gradually, bit by bit, the fraternity started shifting from its Greek/Western practices to more socially conscious and cultural African-centered practices. At first things started to change like the stages of initiation. Initially the stages were modeled after the nomenclature of medieval European kingdoms with Page, Squire, Knight, Prince & King stages. This was gradually changed to Talib, Pauper, Artisan, Warrior & African King in the early 1980's. Another example is the Sigma and Psi in our name. Brothers started researching and learning more about the real African contribution to Western civilization. It was revealed that Kmt (Egypt) had a major influence on the Greek culture. The Greek culture has always been regarded as the foundation of Western Civilization. So if this foundation had African influence then everything about history as we know it, must also be re-evaluated. i.e. the Greek lettering itself. Brothers started to question the "Greekness" of the Greek letters in totality and within our name specifically. The National administration in the late 90's commissioned a group of brothers on the NIA Committee to research and codify the organization's language with supportive factual evidence.
Yes, there is documentation illustrating this argument. And scholars do admit that some aspects of the Greek alphabet derived from other cultures. However, brothers got admittedly "carried away" with the "Greek letters are actually African" hypothesis. Brothers took a step back, took a deep breath and critically analyzed the Sigma and Psi in our name. The result was basically that Sigma and Psi were in fact wholly Greek letters. Plain and simple. During this period, the Fraternity was over 2 decades old had evolved into an African/Latino Fraternity and not a Greek one. Brothers grew more conscious of who they were and of their cultural pride. People were joining for the sole reason that Malik Sigma Psi was not Greek. We were an alternative to the "Black Greek and Latino Greek" fraternities. Now with the realization that the 2 greek letters were just that Greek, we were in a dilemma. How can we be a conscious fraternity, practicing African fraternalism, telling the masses and Black & Latino Greeks that they should stop following a Western paradigm when in fact we too had Greek letters. It was hypocritical.
Brothers began to toy with the idea of a name change. First, it was just a humorous thought "Hey, guess we're going to have to drop our Greek letters" - lol. But then the notion started growing. Why not? Older brothers had always impressed on newer brothers since the 1980's that one day the organization will have an entirely African name. We talk a good game about man progressing, about our people progressing and now that we have an opportunity to back up our talk, will we take the giant leap into the unknown? Brothers debated back and forth. Some were for it, some were against it, and some were indifferent. The only tangible argument to retain our two Greek letters was "its our history, our tradition". Which is totally understandable. But the overall driving force to change was this the right thing to do for our people? For our Progression? For our self-determination? Ultimately our conscience was being tested. What is the right thing to do? Do we remain status quo or do we change? The question was finally put to vote during one of our national conventions. On May 18th, 2002, the Fraternity voted its conscience. We voted for change.
Never before in history had a fraternity removed its Greek letters and remain active. Not only did we not go Inactive, we continue to grow and be leaders and change agents on our campuses and in our communities. It has not been easy-sailing to say the least. With any kind of major change, there's major problems. But as Frederick Douglas famously said, "No Struggle, No Progress". Thereafter, the U.S. made a change based on conscience It abolished slavery and a civil war occurred over this institution of culture and history. However, the American people came out a better nation for it. Yes, to this day we have a few die-hard Confederates who want the glory days of the Ole' South back and resent the government for it. But fortunately America went with its conscience, and did the right thing. Today, the U.S. is now the world's leader and the world looks to it for leadership and its strength. MALIK Fraternity too made a change based on conscience. Hopefully it too, will be looked upon by our people for its strength, social responsibility, and leadership.
The Conscience of MALIK Fraternity:
The Fraternity's Name ChangeMALIK SHABAZZ
On April 22nd 1964, a bold and progressive change occurred: "Malcolm X" changed his name to "MALIK SHABAZZ".
MALIK Fraternity
On May 18th 2002, a bold and progressive change occurred: "Malik Sigma Psi Fraternity" changed its name to "MALIK Fraternity".
Official Fraternity Name Change Press Release (2002):
"Why change? Its only a name"...
Malcolm Speaks On The Name Change:
"When I'm traveling around the country, I use my real name, Malik Shabazz. I make my hotel reservations under that name, and I always see the same thing I've just been telling you. I come to the reservation desk and always see that 'here-comes-a-Negro' look. It's kind of a reserved, coldly tolerant cordiality. But when I say 'Malik Shabazz,' their whole attitude changes: they snap to respect. They think I'm an African. People say what's in a name? There's a whole lot in a name. The American black man is seeing the African respected as a human being. The African gets respect because he has an identity and cultural roots. For these reasons he has his human rights recognized, and that makes his civil rights automatic." - Malik Shabazz
History & Cultural Significance of the Fraternity's Name Change:
The Fraternity of today is not the same Fraternity of 1977. The fraternity went through a gradual evolution of consciousness and self-reflection. During it's founding it was a para-Greek Fraternity. Like many of its counterparts, it was (and still is) standard to have 3 greek letters. The Founders did not set out to found some ideological entity. They were a group of brothers that had a strong bond that wanted to form a fraternity on their college campus. The choices at that time were not appealing to them, so they decided to form their own. However, instead of choosing the common 3-Greek letter route they decided to have the "M" represent "MALIK". Thus Malik Sigma Psi was born. Malik means King, Sigma means Movement/Progress, and Psi means Man. When read from right to left, "man progressing to be king".
As the fraternity grew, so did its members' consciousness. Gradually, bit by bit, the fraternity started shifting from its Greek/Western practices to more socially conscious and cultural African-centered practices. At first things started to change like the stages of initiation. Initially the stages were modeled after the nomenclature of medieval European kingdoms with Page, Squire, Knight, Prince & King stages. This was gradually changed to Talib, Pauper, Artisan, Warrior & African King in the early 1980's. Another example is the Sigma and Psi in our name. Brothers started researching and learning more about the real African contribution to Western civilization. It was revealed that Kmt (Egypt) had a major influence on the Greek culture. The Greek culture has always been regarded as the foundation of Western Civilization. So if this foundation had African influence then everything about history as we know it, must also be re-evaluated. i.e. the Greek lettering itself. Brothers started to question the "Greekness" of the Greek letters in totality and within our name specifically. The National administration in the late 90's commissioned a group of brothers on the NIA Committee to research and codify the organization's language with supportive factual evidence.
Yes, there is documentation illustrating this argument. And scholars do admit that some aspects of the Greek alphabet derived from other cultures. However, brothers got admittedly "carried away" with the "Greek letters are actually African" hypothesis. Brothers took a step back, took a deep breath and critically analyzed the Sigma and Psi in our name. The result was basically that Sigma and Psi were in fact wholly Greek letters. Plain and simple. During this period, the Fraternity was over 2 decades old had evolved into an African/Latino Fraternity and not a Greek one. Brothers grew more conscious of who they were and of their cultural pride. People were joining for the sole reason that Malik Sigma Psi was not Greek. We were an alternative to the "Black Greek and Latino Greek" fraternities. Now with the realization that the 2 greek letters were just that Greek, we were in a dilemma. How can we be a conscious fraternity, practicing African fraternalism, telling the masses and Black & Latino Greeks that they should stop following a Western paradigm when in fact we too had Greek letters. It was hypocritical.
Brothers began to toy with the idea of a name change. First, it was just a humorous thought "Hey, guess we're going to have to drop our Greek letters" - lol. But then the notion started growing. Why not? Older brothers had always impressed on newer brothers since the 1980's that one day the organization will have an entirely African name. We talk a good game about man progressing, about our people progressing and now that we have an opportunity to back up our talk, will we take the giant leap into the unknown? Brothers debated back and forth. Some were for it, some were against it, and some were indifferent. The only tangible argument to retain our two Greek letters was "its our history, our tradition". Which is totally understandable. But the overall driving force to change was this the right thing to do for our people? For our Progression? For our self-determination? Ultimately our conscience was being tested. What is the right thing to do? Do we remain status quo or do we change? The question was finally put to vote during one of our national conventions. On May 18th, 2002, the Fraternity voted its conscience. We voted for change.
Never before in history had a fraternity removed its Greek letters and remain active. Not only did we not go Inactive, we continue to grow and be leaders and change agents on our campuses and in our communities. It has not been easy-sailing to say the least. With any kind of major change, there's major problems. But as Frederick Douglas famously said, "No Struggle, No Progress". Thereafter, the U.S. made a change based on conscience It abolished slavery and a civil war occurred over this institution of culture and history. However, the American people came out a better nation for it. Yes, to this day we have a few die-hard Confederates who want the glory days of the Ole' South back and resent the government for it. But fortunately America went with its conscience, and did the right thing. Today, the U.S. is now the world's leader and the world looks to it for leadership and its strength. MALIK Fraternity too made a change based on conscience. Hopefully it too, will be looked upon by our people for its strength, social responsibility, and leadership.